Clavicularius
The Clavicularius are a Legacy that deals with inner demons and goetic magic. They have a reputation as power-mad mages who delve into demonology and the darkest recesses of their own minds. Many who seek to master their inner demons stumble from narrow, treacherous discipline and find themselves walking a Left-Hand Path. The attainments of the Clavicularius serve one goal - to make the Solomonist aware of the flaws in his soul, allowing him to isolate them and wall himself off from them, turning them into something almost outside of himself. The Clavicularius are then capable of using these flaws of character as weapons against others. Simple Infernalism has no place among the Clavicularius - a Solomonist's demons are always personal, whether a source of power or a means of overcoming deep shame. Mindset Clavicularii consider themselves modern-day inheritors of King Solomon, the virtuous king who summoned demons to build a great temple and palace in which he ruled in wisdom. The Clavicularius mage follows the lessons Solomon left behind. The mage, having confronted her own Vices, feels qualified to confront the sins of everyone else. As a result, some initiates of this Legacy seem fearsomely judgmental; others take a softer, more compassionate approach but, nevertheless, do not permit other people to compromise the initiates' morals. The concept of ordering an infant cut in half in order to flush out which woman is really its mother is archetypal of Clavicularian thought: Force a moral crisis in order to expose deception. At any given time, a Clavicularius may work on a "pet project," putting a Sleeper through a crucible with the intention of strengthening her, by whatever means necessary. These mages make extensive use of the Keys of Solomon, a system of sigils, pentacles, and seals meant to invoke, control, or banish demons that correspond to the moral and psychological weaknesses of humans and mages. Sleeper occultists believe the Keys themselves have power. The Awakened understand the true meaning of these symbols. The sigils are not mystic in and of themselves; rather, they are a shorthand description for demons that personify different sins and desires, codified by Goetic mages of long ago. Mages can use these sigils, and the devils to which they refer, as "standard forms" when the mages want to wrestle or evoke their inner demons. However, the Clavicularius are not some kind of mutual sympathy society - they have nothing but scorn for the failings of their brethren, unless those failings are fought and overcome. Each victory is celebrated, but each failure is met with contempt and scornful advice on how to do better. Outsiders sometimes compare the Clavicularius to a group of extreme sports enthusiasts for their daring and braggadocio, constantly challenging each other to excel and rewarding those who do with prestige and admiration. Because of this attitude, the Clavicularius don't turn away mages who are deeply flawed or psychologically unstable. A mage who enters the Legacy as someone ruled by rage or who bears terrible phobias finds that his fellow mages laud his victories greatly. The mage who suffered from crippling mental illness and defeated that terrible demon has more right to his pride than one who overcame simple fears and childhood anxieties. The Legacy's most popular oblation is the Rite of Castigation, wherein a demon that embodies a mage's Vice or derangement is symbolically invoked under a Solomonic name, punished and banished, reaffirming the mage's power and will. Category:Legacy (MTAw)